Guardian Angels
by DreamerNightingale
Summary: It was their voices that dragged me from the edge. Anime characters. But things started getting weird when I was pulled through worlds to get thrown into theirs. As it turns out, I'm an heiress to a clan. And here lately, I keep bumping into my guardian angels. If this keeps up, I'll be pushed over a whole new edge. Kaka/oc/Ita May contain lemons. Beware.
1. Chapter 1

I was twelve the first time.

Nobody else was home. _Please God, send me an angel._ A steady crimson drip fell from my wrists as I stepped into the lukewarm water of the tub. _I can't take this anymore!_ I sat down, the steady burning in my body, the constant exhaustion taking it's toll. I laid back, letting the the water adapt a red hue. Tears fell from my eyes and I closed them in defeat.

 _Stop._ My eyes flew open. No one was there. I closed my eyes again. _Get up. Don't do this._ Such a deep voice.

"What?" My eyes opened again. I could feel the energy sucking itself from my body.

 _Don't die._

I sluggishly pulled myself from the tub. I crawled to the cabinets, rooting through them to find the bandages. I wrapped wrists in gauze and bandages to stem the blood flow. I crawled weakly to the living room, and collapsed against the couch. _Good girl._ Everything went black.

* * *

I was sixteen the second time.

I had gone to visit the big city, and had stayed behind the group I had come with. The constant exhaustion was taking it's toll on me again. The burning sensation I had grown used to. I had it for as long as I could remember. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with me. If anything, they said I was the healthiest they had ever seen. But I was constantly tired. It had started when I had turned eight. And with it came emptiness. It felt like something was missing from my world, but I couldn't figure out what.

I stared down a the cars that looked like little beetles below. The wind whipped against my face, causing my eyes to sting and tear up. I carefully pulled myself up and over the railing, clinging to the railing, perched at the edge of the building. I wished someone would save me from this nightmare.

 _Don't._ A different voice from before called out. It was just as smooth, but as the first bordered on bass, this voice was the average baritone of most males. It was just as beautiful though. I looked up into the sky, tears falling from my eyes. _Keep holding on. Don't give up yet._ I broke into a sob.

I carefully turned around, clutching the railing, and pulled myself back over. My legs were shaking so badly that I hit my knees when I made it back to safety. "Why?" I whimpered. "I just want it to stop, so why?"

 _Hang in there._

* * *

I was eighteen when I found out who they were.

"Selena, what's that face about?" My classmate looked into my face as I stared into my phones screen. My face had become cherry red as I realized where the second voice I had heard came from. I stared at Kakashi's bare face with wide eyes. _These angels have a sick sense of humor. So if the second one was Kakashi, who was the first one?_

"It's nothing." I cleared my throat, gathering my control. My face went back to it's pale complexion.

"Whatever you say." They turned away from me. "Probably is looking at porn." They grumbled. I smirked as I began to look up more Japanese episodes of Naruto.

I listened to every voice, trying to figure out if it was the voice I had heard.

 _There._ My eyes widened as I realized just who's voice saved me the first time. I stared into onyx orbs. _Itachi Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake are my angels?_

* * *

I was twenty three when I met my real mother. When my life changed.

I tottered into my apartment, pulling away my silver hair from my teal eyes, trying to see in the dark. I dropped my purse in the doorway after shutting and locking my door. I continued to stumble around in my mildly intoxicated state. I groaned as I turned on the light, abusing my poor eyes. I turned the light back off and stumbled forward. I could no longer feel the ground. I fell forward and groaned.

"Who the hell are you?!" I looked up at a busty blond glaring at me. As our eyes met, her angry expression faltered. "Dan?"

"I had more liquor than I thought." I mumbled stupidly. She stood up and grabbed my chin to see my face better. Her eyed widened.

"It can't be. You should be much much older!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah?" I struggled to my feet, looking around the familiar office. "How old should I be, then?"

"At least in your forties." She stared at me sternly.

"Well, I'm not. I'm twenty three." I mumbled.

"Tsuki..." Tsunade hugged me.

"Who?" I blinked.

"You are Tsuki Senju. My daughter. I'd know those eyes anywhere. They're just like your father's." She smiled at me tenderly. Then her gaze hardened. "I looked everywhere for you, but the woman I entrusted to watch over you while I got myself sorted out disappeared with you. And here you are..."

"...I thought my name was Selena...?" I finally commented. I didn't say anything regarding the fact that she was a fictional character in my favorite anime.

"No. I suppose she would have renamed you. Just a moment. Shizune!" She yelled out the last bit. I noted it was dark outside.

"Yes, lady Tsunade?" Shizune walked through the doors. Her eyes locked on me.

"Meet your cousin, Tsuki." Tsunade presented me proudly, to Shizune's surprise.

"But... She would have to be..."

"I know. But she isn't." Tsunade grinned.

"She is, however, intoxicated and tired." I piped up. They both looked at my swaying voluptuous figure.

"She has your figure..." Shizune mumbled, eyeing my chest.

"Can you take her to the mansion? Let her sleep. We'll get answers tomorrow." She patted me on the shoulder.

"Thank you." I groaned.

"Sure." She ushered me out of the door. I slowly lost the effects of the alcohol in my system and I began to walk straight. I made sure to memorize the way so that I could find my way back again. It wasn't long before I was in bed, sleeping.

* * *

I woke up with a fuzzy feeling in my head. "Crazy dream." I grumbled. I looked around myself, only to widen my eyes in confusion. _This isn't my room?_

I walked outside, to find that it was just passed dawn. _Not. A. Dream._ I made my way around the village keeping my eyes moving from building to building. As I walked past a random building halfway through my route, I saw a few random chuunin walking around, joking. I immediately took off toward the tower. Those chuunin had the Uchiha clan symbol on their clothes. I didn't even think about walking through the front door of the tower. I used my parkour skills to make it up to the window of my mother's office. I tapped on the glass, and she opened the window for me.

"Do you not use the front door either?" She sighed in exasperation.

"There are Uchiha in the village!" I pointed back outside.

"Yeah... Why wouldn't there be?" She asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"I just... it's... um... I need to tell you something." I stuttered.

"Go on."

"Where I was, this was all an anime, and in that anime it was established in the storyline that the Uchiha had been massacred by order of Danzo." I watched her eyes as understanding dawned in them.

"Something like that almost happened almost a decade ago. Danzo's plot to steal all the Sharingan was foiled by a young shinobi who came forward with information incriminating him. And another young man convinced the clan to ignore an outsider who was trying to get them to stage a coup d'etat. So what you saw was a world where his plan succeeded." She bit her thumb nail. "But another world where ours was only fiction... It might explain your age. The times run differently. When you would have wound up in your forties by now, had you stayed here, you are only in your twenties now."

She looked me up and down. "I need to do a quick scan okay?" I nodded. "And I'll get Shizune to find you something else to wear." I nodded again as Shizune slipped out of the room. I hadn't even noticed she was there. I watched my mother build up chakra in her hand to scan me over. I kept my eyes on the process, watching her eyes widen when her hands reached where my chakra core probably was. "Your reserves are enormous. How?"

"No clue. But I do know this is the first time I didn't feel like I was burning alive in my skin. Or constant exhaustion, for that matter." I shrugged.

"You'll need to be trained. Your chakra coils are highly developed. It's like you had a constant leak of chakra all your life, trying to search for other chakra signatures. But from what you just said, it sounds like that's exactly what happened..." She searched my eyes. "I'll train you myself. Do you know anything about jutsu?"

"I know all about ninjutsu... in theory. Chakra didn't exist where I was. but I learned everything I could from every information source I could get my hands on. As for taijutsu, I learned a style called capoeira. You have to be agile with that one. Genjutsu was something that was interesting, but I couldn't quite get much to read on it." I sat on the desk as I waited for Shizune to arrive with clothes that would help me blend in better.

"It's a start." She sighed. "Once you have your new clothes on, come with me and we'll begin training." Shizune walked through the door carrying a bundle. I nodded.

* * *

"Again." Tsunade grunted. I gasped as I tried to take a break. The chakra control had been a snap. My stamina was pretty high because of my lifestyle. But actually fighting was hard. At least, fighting her was hard. I knew it wouldn't be much longer until I had collapsed.

"Right." I darted forward, intent on snatching the leaf from her hand. I ducked, I dodged, I kicked and punched. But she never even needed both hands. She finally let me rest after it was well passed noon.

"Come on. Let's grab a bite." She helped me up. "You did well. Your taijutsu is at least chuunin level. Next we'll try your hand at ninjutsu."

"Okay... How am I supposed to do that?" I questioned tiredly. "I don't even know my chakra nature. Let alone how to actually channel my chakra into a seal to perform one."

"We'll find out. So what do you want to eat? My treat." She grinned down at me as we traveled around the village.

"Honestly? I never ate this sort of food before. It's like a whole new culture." I said as I caught a whiff of something tasty. Tsunade chuckled.

"How about we just go into a tea house this time? I'll order." She grinned down at me. I frowned.

"You're taller than me." She looked shocked as I said it, then giggled.

"To be fair, It's not by much. It's mostly the heels." We walked into the restaurant, and I saw all of the people in the shop stop speaking as they saw their leader enter. I quickly looked down.

"Does this happen often?" I kept my voice low as I spoke.

"Hm? No, not usually. Must be my beautiful daughter next to me that's got their attention." She boasted loudly. Murmurs began all throughout the shop. She then spoke lower to me. "Had to get the word out somehow. I think we should see about getting you your own clothes. Then we can head back to training. Sound good?" I nodded knowing there wasn't much I could do to stop this willful woman.

"Right this way." The hostess ushered us to a free table. "Your server will come by shortly." She kept her professional smile on as she spoke, though her eyes brimmed with curiosity. I straightened my spine. I looked down at the menu and thanked my lucky stars the woman who raised me taught me to read this language.

"Hello, I am Kanako, I'll be your server today. What can I get you?" A peppy young woman smiled cheerily.

"We'll have a pot of jasmine, and some edamame for the table. I'll have chicken gyoza. She'll have dango." Tsunade ordered in a rapid fire pace.

"I'll have that out for you as soon as I can." Kanako chirped as she scribbled down our order.

"Dango? I might be mistaken, but isn't that a sweet?" I asked.

"Yes. But it makes a great snack. Besides. This will hardly fill you up. I can grab us something else as we walk." She grinned. I chucked.

"You're enjoying parading me around, aren't you?"

"Can you blame me?" She continued to grin. I decided to look around to see if I could spot anyone I knew. My eyes spotted spiky black hair and an Uchiha clan crest. The person sitting opposite the spiky haired Uchiha Had long, silky looking black hair, and dark eyes. He looked stressed still.

"Mother, have you looked into the health of Itachi Uchiha?" I asked quietly, hoping I didn't garner his attention. I looked down at the table as I saw him scan the tea shop.

"Yes, I have. The illness he had has been cured. Has been for years, in fact. You really do know about people here, don't you?" She smiled softly. I nodded. I glanced back up his direction to see that he was looking at the person in front of him. His eyes shot up to meet mine all of a sudden, and I looked back to my mother.

"Only some." I grinned weakly. It was then that our server came with our tea and edamame. We sipped lightly at our drinks, and crunched on the dry soybeans.

"I'm glad I got to see my daughter again." Tsunade looked like she was about to cry. I felt panic take over. My eyes widened and I paled. My arms began to flap quickly, though still close to my body. I looked around, unsure what to do with a crying person, and tried to avoid Itachi's intense stare. "It's okay. I won't cry." Tsunade quickly wiped her eyes, and I calmed down. "I'm just so happy."

"I'm glad I finally got to meet you, too." I answered softly. She grinned.

"Here are your orders!" Kanako piped up, carefully sliding the plates of food onto our table, and then left. I looked down at the plate of dango and lifted one stick of it. I stared at it for a moment, hesitant to try it.

"Go on. It won't bite." Tsunade smirked. I took an experimental bite. _Not bad._

I continued eating my dango, diligently avoiding the eyes a few tables away. Satisfied that I was enjoying my meal, my mother tucked into her own food.

It was when the weight of the stare lifted, that I chanced a glance over to the table to find it unoccupied. I sighed in relief, listening to my mother prattle about mundane things, nodding along when necessary.

* * *

"Water chakra nature, with earth chakra nature... hmmm... Maybe you have it." Tsunade scrutinized me.

"Have what?" I asked, backing away slightly.

"Wood affinity." She smirked. "Only one way to find out. Tonight, I have a scroll I want you to read and practice on for the week. But while you're at it, practice water jutsu. Got it?" She was already headed toward the tower.

"Yeah... I'll just keep practicing then." I called.

"See ya at home!" She waved back.

I focused inwards as I tried to remember the seals for a low level water jutsu. It was going to be a long afternoon.


	2. Chapter 2

_Okay, here goes..._ I flashed through all the seals, and applied my chakra. One large tree grew from the ground and shaped itself into a shield. I fell onto the ground, already tired. I heard the quiet clacking of mother's boots on the ground.

"Pretty good progress. Try another jutsu. Something more offensive." She smirked. The sun was high in the sky. My stomach growled. Her smirk stretched into a huge grin. "First let's get you something to eat." She offered a hand.

I took it and pulled myself to my feet. My kimono top was dusty, so I began to dust myself off. She chuckled.

"Why don't you come up to the tower with me after this? You've been training for a month. How's your water jutsu going?" She continued to look around the shops.

"I'm doing okay. I've got some of the higher end jutsu down. But it takes a lot out of me. I could barely make the shield after all that." I sighed.

"You've been training with your weapons at all?" She inquired. I looked at her, feeling a tad bit wary.

"Yes, mother. It came easily. So I just had to refine my skills." I said.

"Good." She was smiling. "I think next, we'll work on your diplomatic skills."

"Diplomatic skills?" I looked at her quizzically.

"You're my daughter. A clan heiress and the daughter of the hokage. You're going to wind up being my go-to for negotiations to other countries." She moved to enter the same tea house as always. It had become our custom lunch date place.

"Mother, why?" I looked at her with wide eyes.

"Because you are beautiful and charming. And you can fight if necessary." She reasoned. "But I wouldn't send you into the wolf's den alone. I'd send you with guards." We were shown to a table. I did a quick glance around the room to see two figures enter the shop. My eyes zeroed in on their faces for a split second. I looked away before they could catch me analyzing them. Itachi and Shisui sat down a few tables from ours. I refocused on my mother and what she was saying. "...choose whoever you want to fit the bill. Within reason, of course."

"I suppose I should get learning then." I leaned my head on my hand.

"Hello! The usual?" Kanako chirped as she arrived at our table.

"Yes, thank you." I smiled kindly at her.

"Uh... o-okay." Kanako blushed and stumbled away.

"Uh... Tsuki?" Mother stared at me in wonder. "What was that?"

"Hm? What was what?" I asked.

"You just charmed a young woman. Like you were a male." Tsunade stated bemusedly.

"Male? Is that why girls do that sometimes?" I wondered aloud.

"This has happened before?" The blond asked.

"Well, I was told I had a fan club of both boys and girls when I was in school." I shrugged. "They never bothered me, so I never thought much of it."

"Maybe we just need to give you lessons on the political structure." Tsunade mumbled through the edamame in her mouth.

I glanced at the Uchiha a few tables away. They seemed deep in concentration. I carefully pushed a little chakra to my ears to hear what they were saying.

"...Tsunade's daughter?" That must be Shisui.

"Yes." That was Itachi.

"Is... Is my cousin finally interested in a Woman?" Shisui asked in mock wonder.

"Shisui." He warned simply.

"Okay, fine. She's going to be seen as our diplomat for foreign relations. Been training since she got here, and pretty strong by the looks of it."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Judging by the weird shaped trees popping up everywhere, she's inherited her great grandfather's wood jutsu."

"Hn." I could feel the stare aimed at me.

Kanako brought our food, and I smiled politely at her in thanks. Mother had noticed my quiet mood.

"Listening in on conversations?" She teased.

"Great practice for information gathering." I agreed, picking up my first stick of dango. Mother had been right that it wouldn't be enough to fill me up. Which was why I had smoked salmon onigiri as well. She snickered. I went back to listening.

"...can't keep staring at her like that. You'll creep her out." Shisui sounded exasperated.

"..." His eyes left me. I gathered my courage and looked up at him. His eyes met mine in a flash and we held each others stare across the few tables between us. I stopped chewing. I was mildly aware o both my mother and Shisui turning to look in surprise. I wasn't sure what came over me, but I found myself offering a smile, then turning back to my food.

"I think she likes you." Shisui spoke in amusement.

"Has Itachi been staring at you this whole time?" Tsunade whispered in a hushed tone.

"Seems like it, doesn't it?" I said after swallowing the rest of my stick of dango. I took a sip of my tea. "But a lot of people stare." I peeked at him through my lashes. I could sense that he and his cousin were listening now. "Everybody is curious about the ever 'mysterious' daughter of the fifth hokage. I'm not worried about it."

She chuckled at me as I continued to eat. "Even so, he's staring at you pretty hard. Should we go and say hello?"

"No, let them eat. I don't want to intrude." I moved on to my onigiri. She scoffed.

"Well, they're probably going to show up at the office today anyway. I think I have a mission for them."

"Alright, I'm sure you can introduce us then." I grinned indulgently.

"Fine." She sighed. "Are you done? I have mountains of paperwork to get to."

I sipped the last of my tea and sighed. "I suppose so. I wouldn't want you to get buried in paperwork." We chuckled together. We left a big tip for Kanako and headed out. I took a last glimpse at him to see his mouth quirked up into a smirk.

* * *

"Tsuki, could you hand me-" Mother cut herself off as I handed her the desired scroll. "Thanks."

I nodded, distractedly as I continued to read up on the political standings. I heard the door open, but continued to read. Mother addressed the new arrival. "Kakashi. Mission went well I hope?"

"It was a success. No casualties." A familiar bored voice answered. I looked up to see a squad of four. The masked grey haired copy nin stood in front while a young man in green spandex, and girl with two buns in her hair, and a long haired young man with pale lavender eyes stood behind him. My eyes widened. Neji was alive. Neji was ALIVE!

I closed my scroll quickly. I looked over to the blond busty hokage. It seemed that Kakashi had noticed me. "Hello." I looked up at the grey haired masked man.

"Hello." I kept my voice even. I noticed the team behind me stare in both curiosity and distrust.

"Tsuki, this is Kakashi Hatake." Mother introduced. "Behind him are Tenten, Rock Lee, and Neji Hyuuga. Everyone, this is my daughter, Tsuki Senju."

"It's a pleasure." Kakashi nodded at me. I smiled.

"The pleasure is mine." I responded politely. I looked at the clock behind them. "Mother, would you like me to go grab dinner for you? You should eat something."

"Hmmm? Shizune went to get us dinner, remember? Or were you too focused on your studies?" She smirked over at me.

"Oh. Did that actually happen? I felt like that was a figment of my imagination." I chuckled in my embarrassment. I heard a soft rumble of laughter. I glanced to the group to see Kakashi's eye crinkled in amusement. The others were fighting back smiles.

"Lady Tsunade, Lady Tsuki, I have your food here!" Shizune threw the door open. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't realize you had a mission debriefing going on."

"It's fine." Tsunade sighed. I carefully took my sack food from my cousin, smiling in a friendly manner. I sat the food aside so as not to be rude in front of others.

I waited for the debriefing to end before commenting further. I could see Kakashi's eye slide to me lazily as he gave his verbal debriefing. My mother was reading the written mission summary, so she didn't see his distraction. I continued to pay attention, trying to learn how missions were supposed to be done.

"Good job." Tsunade mumbled distractedly. I watched Guy's team leave without Kakashi. She looked up to see Kakashi staring at me with interest. "Something I can help you with?"

"Hm? Ah, no. Sorry. I was just wondering..." Kakashi turned to address me. As he did so, a four man squad of Jounin. "Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow?" He kept his stance relaxed as the entire room stilled. I heard two different intakes of breath. I knew one was my mother, but the other was from one of the Jounin.

"Do you normally ask random girls to lunch after just meeting them?" I questioned teasingly. He chuckled. I noticed a familiar looking Jounin. I felt midnight eyes stare at my face as I tried to focus on the masked Jounin in front of me.

"No. Just you." I could feel the smirk through his mask.

"I suppose I can't turn down such a friendly offer." I allowed. He chuckled. "Meet here around eleven?"

"Sounds good." And with that, he poofed away. I turned to see the team that entered more clearly. There stood Shisui, Itachi, Genma, and some Inuzuka woman.

"Alright, your next mission will be in a few days..."


	3. Chapter 3

"You're set to go in three days. Please be prepared." Tsunade spoke crisply. She seemed bored, to be honest. Itachi kept his eyes on my mother, but Shisui kept glancing my way. The other two didn't seem interested in the weird exchange going on. I raised an eyebrow at Shisui. He raised both at me, then glanced at Itachi quickly, then looked back at me in an almost accusing way. My eyes slid to the clan heir then back to his cousin. Mother finished her briefing, and the teammates that weren't Uchiha left the room. "Tsuki, this Is Itachi Uchiha, and Shisui Uchiha." Itachi turned to me. "Itachi, Shisui, this is my daughter, Tsuki." My name was said with a smirk.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." I smiled politely. I wasn't sure what to say to him. _Thank you for speaking to me and stopping me from committing suicide?_ It wouldn't be a good start.

"Our pleasure to meet such a cute young lady." Shisui spoke up for the two. Itachi turned to me with a strange look in his eyes. "Right, Itachi?"

"Ah." He answered. I repressed the urge to shiver at his deep voice.

"Well thank you. You're both rather handsome yourselves." I chuckled. A spark flashed in both of their eyes.

"..." It seemed like Itachi wanted to say something, but he was having a hard time.

"I didn't know Lady Tsunade had a daughter." Shisui chuckled, filling in his cousin's silence.

"Not many were aware." I answered.

Itachi seemed to rummage around in his little pack, and pulled out a small envelope. "...Father wished I give you this." He then turned to make his way out of the room.

"See ya later, Lady Tsuki!" Shisui waved.

"Alright then." I smiled politely as they left.

"Tsuki, what was that about?" Mother turned to me with a slight frown.

"Hmmm? What was what about?" I cocked my head at her.

"I thought you had an interest in Itachi?" She scrutinized my face.

"He is interesting, if not enigmatic." I smiled.

"But you just accepted a date with Kakashi." She stated.

"Yes I did." I couldn't help but chuckle. "He asked. And I saw no real reason to say no."

"You're interested in him then?" She inquired.

"He is also interesting." I supplied. "And definitely enigmatic." I saw her face scrunch up in frustration as she tried to understand my vague replies.

"So you have interest in both of them, but Kakashi struck first, so you answered him." Shizune tried to clear things up.

"Sounds about right." I rolled up my scroll. "I think I'll head out for a while. It looks like a night to eat out under the stars." I grabbed my dinner, and jumped out of the window.

"There's a door for a reason!" Tsunade called after me. I laughed freely.

I continued to hop roofs until I made it to the nearest park to home. I sat down, And slowly worked on my food. I stared up at the beautiful, clear skies. The stars twinkled, in a gorgeous display of splendor. I ran out of food, and stared up at the thick blanket of gems glittering above me. I lost track of time out there, and was mildly surprised when a familiar voice spoke up behind me.

"Little late for a stroll in the park."

I turned to my masked companion. "Yes, but just the time to be stargazing." Kakashi stared down at me with one curious eye.

"I suppose so. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all. Plenty of room." I smiled. He settled down a foot away from me. Not too close, but not so far away it was insulting. "What brings you out here?" I asked in a friendly manner.

"Was planning on walking the boys." He shrugged.

"Dogs?" I grinned.

"Yeah." He looked at me from the side. "You okay with them running around?"

"I love dogs. Besides, not my property. Go right ahead." I giggled. Through the mask, I saw a smile.

"Alright." I watched him summon his whole gang. The smile I had on my face grew bigger as I caught sight of them. "Go on and have some fun. But be good." He sounded almost bored as he spoke to them. His attitude made me want to laugh.

"Kakashi... There's a woman sitting next to you tonight." Pakkun announced unnecessarily.

"Hmmm? Yes, what of it?" Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly. This caused a stir among the pack. Nobody saw it coming though, when The biggest, Bull, decided he could be a lap dog with me. "Bull! Don't crush her!" He looked rather exasperated.

"Awww! You are so cute!" I said between giggles as I reached up to scratch behind his ears.

"If you encourage him, he'll greet you like that from now on." Kakashi warned.

"Great! I love it when big dogs think they're small enough to be lap dogs. It's so cute." I responded as I continued to pet and scratch Bull all over. He rolled off of me and to my other side to get his bully rubbed. Pakkun hopped into my lap and laid down. I scratched behind his ears with one hand as I rubbed Bull's belly with the other.

"I've never seen them become so friendly so fast with someone before." He watched as I continued giving affection to the dogs.

"Well, I feel honored that they took to me so fast." Another jumped up on me from running around and licked my cheek. I giggled. "So glad I came out here."

"You don't usually?" Kakashi asked. I felt like sighing at the ninja instinct to information gather.

"No, I usually eat with mother, then head home so I can get an early start on training the next day." I stared back up at the stars.

"What was different about today?" I could hear his cautious inquiry.

"I don't know. It's been so long since I had just stared up at the skies. I used to do it when I was a little girl. Granted, back then it was to alleviate the pain. Staring up at the skies, seeing just how small I was compared to the vast cosmos always seemed to stop the burning for a while. I used to wish that I could do it all the time, but even at a young age, I had to do other things. Since I got here, the burning stopped. I forgot how peaceful it was to just sit and watch the world move around me..." I sighed.

"Burning?" Kakashi looked at me in concern. "What do you mean?"

"My mother says that when I was a baby, I got carried off to another world using some complicated jutsu. That world had no chakra. I guess it was leeching it from me and keeping me in constant chakra exhaustion. It was suffocating. I could barely eat or sleep." I frowned.

"Oh..." I could see his unease.

"But because of that, I have a huge chakra pool. According to mother." I continued petting the dogs absently.

"It must have been hard on you." He tried to make it sound lighthearted, but the tone fell flat.

"Very. There were times that I just wanted it to stop. Whatever I had to do." I rubbed my wrist without even thinking as I continued to stare up at the stars. "What time do you think it is?"

"Hmmm... About 1:30." He determined from the star placement, I guessed. "About to head home?"

"Probably a good idea, but I've been out this long, a little longer shouldn't hurt." I used my hands to keep me up as I leaned back a bit. The dogs abandoned me to run about.

"Spoken like a procrastinator." He spoke with an air of approval. I let out a full laugh, causing the dogs to look our way. I calmed a bit before speaking

"Probably one of the only things I'll procrastinate over." I agreed. "Wonderful view with good company."

"I feel honored." He said in a playful manner.

"I was talking about the dogs, but you're pretty great, yourself." I teased. He chucked quietly from somewhere low in his throat.

"Well, the boys have had a long run. I should get them home. Would you like an escort home?" I could tell he didn't feel right leaving me here.

"I suppose it would be a good idea. I have a lunch date to be ready for tomorrow." I pulled myself up to my feet and dusted my bottom off. I grabbed my trash, to throw away as soon as I got home.

Kakashi let out a shrill whistle and the dogs came bounding up to us. "I'll be bringing this young lady home, So you guys should go on home." The dogs poofed out in response. I smiled. He turned to me. "Shall we?" He held out his arm. _Such a gentleman._

"Sounds good." I rested my hand in the crook of his arm.

"Let's be off, then." His visible eye crinkled in a way that suggested he was smiling. I smiled in agreement.

* * *

"Where have you been!?" Mother's voice cut through the silence as I was about to make my way to my room.

"At the park. I guess I lost track of time." I smiled.

"And what was Kakashi doing, walking you home at this hour?" She growled.

"He came out to walk his dogs." I shrugged. "We talked a bit, I got to pet Bull and Pakkun... It was a nice night."

"What were you doing out there in the first place?" She folded her arms over her chest.

"Stargazing." My smile grew just a bit more. "What a beautiful world we live in."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "..."

"Goodnight, mother." I disappeared from her view behind my bedroom door.

Tomorrow was another day.


	4. Chapter 4

Kakashi POV

"You're going on a date with her!?" Gai cried out from his wheelchair. His team looked at the duo with mild variations of curiosity. Kakashi sighed.

"Yeah. I'm meeting her at the tower in a few hours." He placed his hands in his pockets. "It's just lunch. Nothing serious." He noticed Itachi and Shisui walking up in his peripheral. "But I don't think I would mind if it did get serious..."

"Hatake." Itachi's voice reverberated in the air.

"Uchiha." Kakashi returned in a lackadaisical manner. "What brings you out this way?"

Itachi's sharingan activated. Kakashi knew almost instantly. It was to be a spar. A rough one.

"Alright then." Kakashi slipped into a defensive stance.

* * *

Shisui POV

"What is that about?" The Hyuuga kid muttered. The others nodded their curiosity.

"Kakashi totally stole Itachi's thunder yesterday." Shisui chuckled.

"Huh? How do you mean?" Tenten asked as they had to sidestep a stray fire ball.

"Kakashi asked Lady Tsunade's daughter out. Itachi has been planning to ask her out for weeks now." Shisui explained.

"Oh. Kakashi has been telling me how he always went by her training area. He's been interested in her since she first arrived." Gai murmured.

"Itachi kept running into her at His favorite tea house. They apparently took turns staring at one another." Shisui snickered. "I think that's the most he's stared at a woman without thinking them a danger."

"Wow. So they're fighting over a girl. Who'd have guessed. It just seems so out of character for the two of them." Tenten mused.

"Well, I don't know that Kakashi realizes what it's about, but more than anything, Itachi is venting his frustrations." Shisui watched his cousin speed after the copy nin. "And Kakashi is the reason for his frustration at the moment. I guess the clan isn't helping much, but right now, Kakashi is his main grievance."

"I can see how that would be a bit annoying." Neji muttered.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked.

"He's the next clan head. Right now, he's at the perfect age to be married. To settle down and start a family and manage the clan business. He probably saw her as a perfect potential wife. And then Kakashi swooped in, right under his nose. Chances are, he only thought of her as the answer, so there's no back up. That can be very stressful and frustrating." Neji explained.

"Oh..." Tenten stuttered.

"I'm lucky that the same pressures aren't on me." Neji muttered.

"You have no idea..." Shisui answered in barely a whisper. The two sparring ninja, both singed and soggy, were reduced to using kunai as they crossed blades over and over again.

* * *

Kakashi POV

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this short. I've got somewhere to be." Kakashi finally backed up from their deadlock.

"Oh? Aren't you usually late? What's so important today?" Itachi lowered his weapon.

"Hmmm? Nothing too terribly important. But I do have plans for lunch, and I've already worked up an appetite." Kakashi smiled, revealing only a crinkled eye. "And I should probably clean up before meeting my date."

Kakashi tilted his head to avoid the kunai that was thrown at him. "Touchy subject, I'm guessing?"

Itachi glared at him silently. Shisui quickly walked up to his cousin in hopes to calm things down. "Hey. Didn't you say you had a few things to pick up?"

"...Hn." Itachi gave one last glare before heading in the direction of the market district.

"Wow." Tenten mumbled. "Talk about scary."

"The way you were speaking... You knew he was interested in her." Gai stared hard at his long time rival.

"I knew, I just didn't care. She's a talented young lady. And she likes dogs." Kakashi grinned behind his mask.

"How do you know that?" Lee asked in innocent curiosity.

"You didn't take her back to your home, did you?" Gai shouted in shock.

"No. We met last night at the park. She was stargazing, and I was walking the guys." Kakashi ran a hand through his soaked hair. "Bull is really looking forward to seeing her again. I really do need to get going though. Need to change."

* * *

Tsuki POV

I looked at a nearby clock. It was ten til eleven. I let my eyes flicker up to the sky. The clouds drifted lazily by, on a cool breeze. I smiled as I watched them migrate across the sky. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, drawing in all the healthier scents of the village. Food cooking, flowers from the shop down the road, the smell of ozone and metal and male cologne... I opened my eyes to see Kakashi standing a few feet away with a hand behind his back.

"Been waiting long?" He asked.

I glanced at the clock again to see it right at eleven. "I was told to expect you to be rather late. I came early just in case." I smiled. "But it looks like you're on time."

"Hmmm? I guess I am." He pulled a single flower from behind his back. A white camillia. "Saw this on the way, and couldn't help but think of how it would match your hair."

"Th-thank you." I was a bit flustered. _You're adorable._ He couldn't possibly be aware of what it meant, right? I carefully situated it into my hair elastic.

"I was right. It does suit you. Shall we?" He offered his arm to me again. My mind flashed back to last night, with the stars and street lights really throwing his clothes and hair into contrast, and adding depth to those dark grey eyes. My hand found it's way back to the crook of his arm as I felt my face flush a bright pink.

"Of course. Lead the way." I smiled. His visible eye widened and I could have sworn that I saw a faint dusting of pink.

"Right. There's a good place around here. Do you like Mongolian barbeque?" He asked.

I chuckled self concsiously.

"What?" He looked at me curiously without breaking pace.

"You may not believe me when I say this, but where I'm from, there weren't many places that sold this kind of thing... I've never had it." I rubbed my neck with my free hand. His eye widened again.

"So what kind of food did you eat?" He asked.

"Don't get me started on the kind of foods they sold around me. I would like to keep my appetite. I made my own food." I grinned.

"Sounds bad." He commented.

"You have no idea." I shuddered. "But everything here is so natural. It's amazing. The vegetables are naturally grown. There's hardly any chemicals sprayed on them. The meat is fresh, and real. It's amazing, really."

"Well hopefully you like this. I think it's pretty good, myself." He smiled through his mask. As we entered, I looked around us to see the grills in the centers of the tables. I also noticed quite a few familiar faces. "Oh my. It seems like today, everyone I know is eating here." Kakashi sounded a bit like he was already annoyed with them.

"Hello. How many will be in your party?" The hostess asked in a friendly manner.

"Just us two. Is there a more private table?" Kakashi smiled. I noticed that the hostess seemed a bit nervous.

"Please? I'm afraid I'm a bit uncomfortable with so many familiar faces around." I gave a sheepish, closed eyed grin. I opened my eyes to half mast for just an instant before opening them regularly. I noticed she had turned several shades red and had stopped breathing. I cocked my head sightly. "Are you feeling well, miss?"

"Y-yes... R-right this w-way!" She squeaked at me as she led us to a very secluded area of the restaurant. She seated us and let us know a server would be by shortly.

"That was quite interesting." Kakashi remarked. "She was highly flustered. What did you do to her, exactly?"

"Mother says I have a high amount of charisma. If I can train myself to use it properly, I could be a political asset. I decided to test her theory." I shrugged. "All I really did was smile at her. I really wish I knew what made men and women do that." I rubbed my neck in embarrassment. "It can't just be charisma."

"No, you're right. It's your looks. If you look at someone a certain way, they turn to putty in your hands. I wonder if it works on ninja as well."

"Who knows? I'll likely never have to use it to that extent." I shrugged.

"Excuse me. I am Aiko, and I'll be your server. What drinks would you like?" A young woman announced.

"Water, please.' I gave a friendly smile, while tilting my face to the side. She blushed and nodded. She turned to Kakashi.

"Water for as well." He gave a grin behind his mask. I watched her blush worsen slightly and hid a grin.

"I-I'll be right back with that." She scuttled away quickly.

"That as hardly fair." I teased. I could see the lines of a smirk under his mask.

"I'm not the only guilty party here." He bantered back.

We looked down at our menus. I noticed that they had steak for a cheap price, but I decided I ought to see about a cheaper route. I noticed a salad deal and made a mental note.

I continued to peruse the menu, my eyes roaming back to the steak every now ad again.

"Have you made any decisions?" Our server smiled as friendly as possible. I noticed our waters were right next to us.

"Yes. Two orders of steak, rice and steamed vegetables." Kakashi decided for us both. My eyebrows raised in surprise, but I didn't say anything on the matter with her there.

"Very good. I'll have that right out." She chirped cheerily and quickly made to fill our orders.

"Really?" I asked with an amused expression.

"I saw you eyeing it. It was what you wanted. And I have to admit it sounded good." He shrugged.

"You really are sweet." I quickly took a sip of my water.

Aiko was quick to bring our food, and we set to cooking our meat to our preferred degree. I tried to keep my eyes averted from his face so that he could eat his meal in peace.

"Tsuki?" I raised my eyebrows in acknowledgement as I watched my meat cook studiously. "I don't mind, you know." My eyes wandered up to see his face uncovered.

"I was warned you don't care for showing your face. I thought I'd give you a bit of privacy." I admitted as I collected the steak from the grill.

"Well, Ive seen you at your most vulnerable, so I feel it's only fair." His words struck a chord with me.

"What? I was hardly vulnerable last night." I tried to shake off the shock.

"No. I talking about before that. I didn't realize it was you. You were younger. But it was you." He looked so grave. "You were going to jump. You were high up, and you were going to jump."

"And you stopped me." I murmured.

"I had to. You had so much to live for. I couldn't just let you end it. And then about a year later, you show up. Older. Even more beautiful." He smiled.

"Thank you."

"I'm just stating a fact. Everyone can see your beauty." He continued lightheartedly.

"No. Thank you for saving me. For the longest time I called you my angels..." I trailed off in embarrassment.

"Angels? Plural?" He cocked his head.

"Yes. I attempted twice, and twice a voice stopped me. One was yours." I explained.

"Out of curiosity, whose was the others? Do you know?" He asked as he set his food on his dishes so that he could give me his full attention.

"The other voice was Itachi Uchiha."


	5. Chapter 5

Kakashi POV

"Itachi Uchiha." He could feel his face set into a blank mask.

"As in the Uchiha heir?" He tried to reiterate.

"Yes." She stared into his eye, looking for any sign of emotion. He tried to convey acceptance, but he knew he didn't accomplish it. "I don't know why it even happened. I was hoping to ask one of you." She stared down at the table in worry. Her eyes raised, suddenly. "I thought your voices were hallucinations. That some part of me thought there was something worth the pain; worth the time spent burning and exhausted. So I just kept moving on. It took a lot out of me. And then I got teleported here, and met the owners of those voices... the voices that saved my life..."

"Now that you've met us, what do you think?" He smirked. He took a bite of food as she tried to process how to answer.

"You're not angels. That's for sure." She finally said. He fought to keep the hurt from his face. "You're much more relatable. Human. I like that much better than the notion that angels talked me out of dying only to let me burn in my own skin..." She averted her eyes from him. "I like the idea that a person who had never met me before cared enough to stop me. Let alone two people. It doesn't hurt that you're handsome. Real confidence booster, really."

"You know, Itachi seemed really upset this morning." Kakashi mentioned.

"Hmmm? He was? What about?" She went to take a bite of her food.

"About this date." She choked on the meat. He sweatdropped. She cleared her throat through tears.

"I'm sorry, what?" She managed after the coughing subsided. "He's upset about our lunch date? Why?" She looked genuinely puzzled, and he found it adorable.

"Because it seems we're both interested in you. I can't really speak for him, but I'm very interested." Kakashi's visible eye lowered to half-mast. He knew it was playing dirty. He knew that seduction tactics might not even work on her. But he wanted to get his point across.

He watched her flush a cherry red as her eyes widened. "A-ah. I can see that." She calmed herself rather quickly. "And I'm flattered. Maybe the next date won't have such heavy conversation topics?" Kakashi nodded his agreement as he pulled his mask up over his face again. At that moment, Shikamaru walked up to their table.

"Lady Tsuki. Lady Tsunade wished to let you know the date has been set. And she needs to speak to you. Urgently." He kept his back straight. She looked down at her finished lunch.

"Let her know I'm on my way." She sounded exasperated.

"Right." The spiky haired young man poofed away.

"I take it, you're needed?" He joked half heartedly. He saw her reaching for her wallet. "I've got this. It was a date, remember?" She smiled at him.

"If you say so. See you around?" She asked in a hopeful manner.

"Most definitely." He agreed. She gave a final smile as she walked out first.

He waited for the server to give him the check to pay, then made his way out of the restaurant with his head swimming with questions.

* * *

Tsuki POV

"The meeting is set for three months from now. Whoever your guards are going to be, you have two weeks to decide. It'll give them ample time to adjust. But understand this. All the dignitaries and representatives have some sort of scandalous behavior that they flaunt at these meetings. They won't listen to someone who doesn't exhibit similar behavior. They'll just see you as naive. Who ever you choose, be sure they are someone well connected to the village, and make sure you can bed them. Together. It'll go much better if they think you're a spoiled brat. You can charm those idiots without them ever realizing it." Mother spoke crisply. I could tell that she didn't much care for this whole thing. "If I had known this particular lot would be present, I wouldn't have you in such a position."

"I know how politics are. They're the same in my old world as in this one's. Just a few minor differences. I knew what I was getting into when I signed onto this. The whole "You're going to need to sleep with influential people in the village" thing kind of makes things a little awkward, though. I won't lie about that." I chuckled nervously.

"If worse comes to worse, I'll arrange a polygamous marriage after this whole debacle. It'll make the scandal less damaging to your reputation." She offered.

"Let's see how this goes, first." I sighed. "I only need two, right? No more is necessary?"

"Two will suffice."

"That'll make this whole thing a little easier. That makes it possible to hold some kind of standard." I stared at the clouds through the window.

"Also..." My attention came back to the older busty woman in front of me. "We've been invited to the Uchiha compound for dinner. Tomorrow. We need to go find some formal clothes for your diplomatic meeting, but we also need them for tomorrow. So, give me an hour, and we'll go shopping."

"As you wish, mother." I went back to staring out the window. I knew the two I wanted to assign this job to, if I had to assign anyone. But I needed some way to break it to them. At least I had two weeks.

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, Lady Tsuki. It is a pleasure to see you tonight." Mikoto smiled politely. The clan head family greeted my mother and I as we entered the clan compound. I noticed Itachi staring at me again, and made sure my eyes didn't linger too long. I noticed that Sasuke was smirking in my direction. His eyes landed on his brother, then flickered to me briefly.

"The pleasure is ours, I assure you." Mother spoke for us both. I felt my mouth curve into a nervous grin.

We made our way to the building that housed a huge gathering. Other clan members were ambling about, while the clan elders were already seated. I could feel their eyes on me, and it pricked the hairs on my neck up at attention. Fugaku and Mikoto coaxed mother to sit with them so that they could "let the young people socialize and make friends", as Fugaku put it.

"Lady Tsuki!" I turned to see Shisui walking up to me and the head family brothers. "So glad to see such a beautiful face tonight." I could feel my myself calming slightly at his friendly attitude.

"Shisui, was it?" He nodded in affirmative with a huge grin. "I'm glad to see another friendly face tonight. How are you doing?"

"Great! All set for the mission tomorrow." He grinned. "I thought I'd come over, seeing as Itachi and Sasuke are hardly conversation companion material."

"Hn." Both brothers threw an irritated glare at him as they managed to voice their indignity in unison.

I stifled a giggle, causing Itachi to stare again. "I don't think it would have been so bad." I defended them good naturedly.

"Sure, sure. How about you try that while I get us all drinks." Shisui shot back teasingly. He turned away, making his way to the drinks arranged at the back of the room.

"Sakura is here." Sasuke muttered, excusing himself as he wound through the small crowd for his pink teammate. We watched the two greet one another. Sasuke gave a small smile to the pinkette, then led her away from the door.

"He's right." I looked up at the eldest brother in confusion. "I am not the best at socializing." I smiled softly. He was trying. I could feel it.

"We all have our failings, I suppose." I tried to assure him. "I know I still have problems with being around too many people at a time."

"Are you uncomfortable now?" I could see concern in his eyes.

"It helps to have an anchor of sorts. I'm afraid, due to the process of elimination, fate has chosen you as my anchor tonight. I apologize if I am being a burden." I tried to avoid his question. I saw his eyes slide briefly to the elders before focusing on my face again.

"I see." I felt a pressure in my hand, and realized that he had taken it in his own. "You are far from a burden." I felt my eyes widening as I saw a small smile flit across his features. My face heated up slightly. I managed to calm myself long enough to answer his smile with my own.

"Alright, I'm back. Did I miss anything?" Shisui had materialized seemingly out of nowhere with the promised drinks. We were careful to unwind our hands before he could see.

"Hmmm? Nothing major. Itachi and I were just conversing is all." I answered in a pleasant manner. I watched Shisui's eyes widening at us as he assessed the situation. I carefully helped him unload the burden of the drinks, handing on to Itachi before taking my own.

"Oh." I noticed his eyes travel around the room. "Hey, Itachi. Why don't we take her on a tour of the gardens? It's getting a little stuffy in here, and the food won't be out for a few more hours."

'...Ah." Itachi glanced down at me as he answered. "I will let our parents know our plans."

"You guys go on ahead. I'll let them know and catch up with you." Shisui shooed us out of the room. We watched him make a beeline for our parents and whisper in Mikoto's ear. She grinned and nodded, then said something to Fugaku and mother. They nodded and Fugaku shooed him away with a smirk.

He made his way back to us quickly and sighed. "I told you to go on ahead."

"Yes, but that wouldn't have been very polite of us." I teased. He pouted for a moment, but his expression cleared shortly after. We made our way around buildings before finally breaching the walls of a peaceful little garden.

"You know, you really are good at pulling people out of their shell." Shisui commented. Itachi and I glanced over at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"You got Itachi to converse, for one." he grinned. I chuckled in response, only to feel Itachi's hand in mine again. "And I'm told you actually had Kakashi arrive on time. What's up with that?" Itachi's hand tightened around mine for a split second.

"I guess he was just hungry." I shrugged nonchalantly. I could feel their disbelief.

"Yeah. and Itachi is going to start acting and talking like me." Shisui grumbled. Itachi's eyes slid from my face to his cousin.

"I honestly don't understand. Is he usually late for things?" I cocked my head.

"...You could say that." Itachi murmured. Our eyes met and we held contact as we tried to decipher the other.

"...I think I'm gonna head back in." Shisui looked between the two of us in a mischievous manner. "See you guys in a bit?"

"Hn." Itachi answered for the both of us. Shisui flashed one final grin before disappearing around one of the compound buildings.

"...Not very subtle." I giggled. Itachi turned his eyes back to me. I looked up. "There's something on your mind."

"I saw you..." He murmured. "You were so much younger then."

"This sounds very similar to a conversation I had with Kakashi." I sighed.

"He saw you too, then?" His gaze intensified.

"A different time. I was older." I admitted.

"Why?" I could feel the weight of that one word.

"I'm not sure why you guys have seen it. I'm just as confused as you are, to be honest." I admitted.

"No. Why did you do it?" I looked into his midnight hued eyes to see a burning pain on my behalf.

"Where you saw me, there was no chakra. My chakra leaked out in search for other chakra signatures, keeping me in a near constant chakra exhaustion. Or it was trying to supply the world with my chakra... My mother has a few theories. But it felt like I was burning alive in my own body. I couldn't stand the thought of living that way anymore." I stared up at the moon in sadness. "If it weren't for your voices, I'd have never gotten to meet either of you. I'd have never felt such relief. So thank you." My eyes traveled from the full moon to his pale features.

"..." His eyes sparked with some strange emotion I couldn't fathom. "And he knows?"

"Yes."

"Then we are on even footing." He mused.

"Even footing?" I could feel my eyes twisting into a quizzical frown.

"I have every intention of finding out what you mean to me." My heart stopped for a moment as the meaning of those words sunk in. My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. It was no surprise that my voice came out in a squeak.

"What?"


	6. Chapter 6

"I cannot help but find you fascinating." Itachi's deep voice rumbled. I felt my face heat up quite a bit. "But I wonder if it is just fascination. Or is it something else?"

"Um..." I watched his face come closer to mine. Behind him, the moon shone brightly, bathing the garden in silver light. His hand raised up to brush my hair from my face.

"You really are beautiful..." He murmured. His hand pulled away, and I watched him pull away a leaf that must have fallen into my hair when we passed under a tree.

"Not so much." I chuckled awkwardly. I looked around at the muted colors of the garden. It felt so peaceful despite the intense atmosphere Itachi oozed. He leaned closer, and I fought the rising blush as his scent invaded my space. He smelled like campfires and steel and something else. Probably men's cologne. I felt something slide into my hair elastic before he pulled away. I gingerly touched velvety petals and looked into his eyes.

"The azalea becomes you nicely." He murmured. My face reddened considerably.

Ever since Kakashi had given me the flower, I had searched high and low to find out what it meant in this land. I realized he honestly thought it suited me more than giving me any particular meaning. But with Itachi, I knew it meant something. "O-oh? How so?" I tilted my head at him in curiosity.

"So modest and patient. You don't see how beautiful you are, though I am aware that I am only the most recent to admit it. And you are willing to try to converse with someone as introverted as me." He barely breathed the words as he had leaned closer to explain.

"Oh..." My train of thought was cut short as I stared into the dark depths of his eyes. We stared at one another as if in a trance. I couldn't look away. His eyes broke contact with mine only for an instant to look at my lips, then continued his intense gaze. I shivered as I realized just what he wanted in that moment.

"You are cold?" He murmured, and I watched the concern flash in his eyes again.

"I feel rather warm actually." I replied in a breathy tone. A corner of his lip twitched up in amusement. He leaned down slowly, as to give me time to deny him. I stood frozen as his face neared.

"Itachi!" Mikoto's voice echoed through the air. Itachi paused in his movement. "Bring our guest back in soon! The food is on it's way!" He pulled away and stared in the direction of the party. I was thankful that his mother couldn't see us from where she stood. It would have been hard to explain. I looked up at him to see him running a hand through hair, displacing his bangs a bit as he sighed in resignation.

"I suppose we should go now..." He placed his hand at the small of my back to accompany me back to the lively banquet.

"M-mmm..." I tugged self consciously at my kimono sleeves as we walked. His hand didn't push me forward, but rested so gently, that if not for the warmth of his skin permeating the fabric into my own skin, I wouldn't even imagine that it was there. I pulled my composure together to try and alleviate the warmth in my face. By the time we walked back into the room, my face was back to it's original pallor. He seated me with a small smile, then sat next to me.

"I have to say, you've outdone yourselves again." Mother continued to speak to Mikoto. I noticed that on my other side, sat Sakura, and beside her sat Sasuke. The round table allowed for a very personal atmosphere. There was no head of the table which helped tremendously with my nerves. I studied the odd arrangement of seats at our table. I sat to the right of Itachi who sat at the right of Fugaku. Mikoto sat to his left, and to her left sat my mother. This meant that Sasuke and mother sat side by side. I was sidetracked from my musing when Sakura spoke to me.

"Lady Tsuki. Has Shishou started you on medical training yet?" Her voice was low, but I noticed it still caught quite a few Uchiha ears.

"A little. I haven't been immersed in it just yet. My ninjutsu has been taking up the majority of my time up until now." I replied just as quietly.

"Oh. So what are you studying now?" She asked curiously.

"Actually, I'm just learning about the politics of the land." I chuckled.

"Oh. No more ninja training?" She looked worried.

"Just reading up on figureheads and refining my skills that I already have for now." I smiled. "After I've gotten all the information I need, I'll be looking into medical jutsu."

"Sounds practical." Sasuke commented.

"I suppose. As a chosen diplomat, I'm more worried about making a favorable impression in the upcoming meeting. While I may be sent on missions here and there, It won't be until after the meeting. So I have the time to get my skills up to my own standards." I gave a strained smile. I could feel the Uchiha elders' stares baring down on me.

"So, Tsuki." Mikoto piped up. "Other than politics, do you have any plans for the future?" Her blond neighbor tensed slightly. Itachi had stilled by me as well. The entire table, and other tables nearby had their eyes on me for my answer. I figured being purposefully obtuse about this would be the best course of action.

"Just the basic pseudo plan. Try not to die an early and potentially painful death." I chuckled. Itachi relaxed slightly at my avoidance of the subject.

"Really? No husband and children in those plans?" Mikoto seemed determined to get information out of me.

"I prefer to live in the moment. If a husband and children are in my future, I wouldn't be upset. But as it stands, I could also live without either." I replied in a noncommittal manner. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Itachi's mouth set in a light smirk. "Besides. I'm only twenty three. I've got time to think about such things."

"I see." The Uchiha matriarch seemed a bit confused by my answer. The stares boring into me let up a bit.

I was glad to finally finish my meal in peace, though I remained as friendly as possible.

* * *

Kakashi POV

It was hard to focus on the mission with silvery tresses and aqua eyes on his mind. _Wonder what she's doing right now?_ He looked up at the stars as he waited for it to be time to wake Lee for watch. _She's supposed to be going to that Uchiha celebration tonight. I wonder if Itachi is trying to seduce her? It's not like she's mine to be jealous of. We went on a lunch date. It's not like we're betrothed or anything. But damned if I didn't want to suggest us going steady before she left. Kami, I can't be falling for her so fast, can I? And I just left her to go into the Uchiha den alone. Mikoto has been looking for a woman for Itachi for months. Oh Kami, what if she talks her into a betrothal? Fuck!_

He jumped up in his aggravation and began pacing, attempting to try to keep the disturbing thoughts at bay. He decided now would be a good time to wake Lee so that he could try and get some rest.

* * *

Itachi POV

Itachi rubbed his neck in exhaustion as he opened the door to his room. The banquet had gone well, with Tsuki by his side. She had charmed the clan with her soft-spoken comments and demure smiles. The elders had been pleased to see such a quiet creature as candidate for his bride. The children that had continued to run about were pleased with how kind she was.

He sighed as he slowly undressed. There were still the obstacles of her new position as diplomat and Kakashi. As a diplomat, she would leave to meetings possibly for months at a time. Any children they would have would not always be allowed to come with her. The clan could watch them should he be away on a mission, but it still seemed unlikely that it would make for a pleasant conversation with his father.

And Kakashi was his own obstacle. Itachi had not expected to have competition for her affections. Really, he didn't find it wholly surprising that she had many admirers. But to see her actively interested in Kakashi as well as he, well, that did give a bit of a shock.

He noticed the note on his pillow and found himself drawn to it in curiosity. He read it, and felt his eyebrows raise in surprise.

Itachi.

I know I have no right to ask this of you, but as a diplomat, my mother has given me permission to pick two guards to accompany me to the meeting in a few months' time. This being the case, I have chosen you and Kakashi. The reason why I am telling you this in letter instead of speaking to you about it is because of the other function the both of you are to serve. You are more than welcome to deny my request. The other representatives all have... shall we say, flaws? Some form of corruption. And the only way for then to listen to what I have to say will be to show some form of corruption myself. The other function both you and Kakashi will serve will be as my lovers, should the both of you accept. Before the meet, Lady Hokage wishes the three of us to become comfortable with each other to be able to pull this off.

Also, safe travels, and may your mission be a success. I hope you can give an answer before you leave, but I understand if you cannot.

Sincerely,

Tsuki

He scanned the missive twice over to be sure he read correctly. He could feel heat creeping up his neck and face. She was asking him to be her lover. Along with Kakashi. Would he accept? Should he accept? The temptation was strong. So strong, in fact, he found himself writing an acceptance note to lay by her head before dawn. He stared at the feminine scrawl on the note and determined to destroy it tomorrow. No-one else would be allowed to know.

* * *

Time Skip Kakashi POV

Kakashi trudged into his apartment, weary from the last mission. He sighed as he began peeling off his flack jacket. _Just need to rest for a while. Maybe tomorrow, I'll see if Tsuki's free._

"Hey. That woman we met at the park the other night came to visit. Left a letter for ya." Pakkun informed his owner as he dragged his feet toward the bathroom.

"I'll have a look after I get clean." He near groaned. He closed the door to the bathroom and allowed the hot water to wash over minor wounds and sore muscles. The heat stung the cuts and scrapes and the few bruises he had accumulated while on the mission, helping him stay awake. He let himself enjoy the heat of the water for a few more minutes before soaping up his aching body. _So she left a note? I wonder if everything's alright? Kami, that stings... This would be more enjoyable if Tsuki were here to help. I wouldn't even notice the pain..._ Kakashi finished his shower before he had the need to turn the steaming stream of water into a stream of ice.

After walking out in his towel, he stared at the note that was left on his bed. Turning away from it, he pulled out clean clothes and dressed himself quickly. _Come on. Stop stalling and read it. It can't be that bad right?_ He picked up the letter and set to reading. His eyes widened. "Holy shit."


	7. Chapter 7

"So... you're telling me that you've never heard of Christmas?" I stared at my mother as I bundled up further in my coat.

"Doesn't sound familiar. What's it like?" She tilted her head. I frowned as I thought of a way to explain it.

"Originally, it was a celebration of the winter solstice by pagans. It was later romanized and converted into a different religious holiday, then commercialized into what it is today. You take a fir tree, and bring it inside to decorate with glass or ornaments, lights, and garland and tinsel. Lately though, most people use fake trees to avoid rapid deforestation and because its reusable. Most put a decorative star or angel on top of the tree. Family and friends come together and there's usually a gift exchange. Wreaths of fir and holly adorn walls and doors, kids have fun decorating christmas cookies and making messes with icing. Christmas morning, there's a rush to the tree to see what Santa brought for the children." I stared out of the window as the sky let down downy puffs of white.

"Who's Santa?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"A legend parents tell their kids about. A jolly round man in a red suit and hat rimmed with white fur, with magical flying reindeer that are hooked to his sleigh. They fly all over the world to deliver gifts to good children who believe in him. Really, the parents place the gifts under the tree, eat a cookie or two and drink some of the milk."

"Then why tell them Santa exists?" Shizune frowned in disapproval.

"To keep the magic in their hearts. It may sound shady to just lie to children, but when they see the man dressed as Santa in stores, they light up. To think that an adult listens to them aside from their parents... To believe in magic in such an apathetic world... Besides. Once there really was a Santa. He made toys for the children of his village a long time ago. So in his honor we keep the story alive." I shrugged. "But after all the gifts are opened, from dollies to instruments, to socks, the kids play with their toys. The adults help make a fantastic feast. Usually, huge roasted turkey or goose, or even ham. Mashed potatoes, various vegetables are as sides... and even more foods I cant even describe. Friends and family come together to eat and enjoy each other's company. It's beautiful." I didn't pay attention to the strange to looks the two women were giving the back of my head.

"...What's a turkey?" I lost my balance in my shock.

* * *

"Hello." Kakashi leaned against the outside of the building as I exited to find somewhere to eat. I jumped a bit.

"Hello, Kakashi. A bit nippy, eh?" I grinned in a lopsided manner.

"Hm? I hadn't noticed. I've been thinking." He walked by my side, keeping an intense eye on my face, belying his nonchalant tone.

"Oh?" I asked as I continued to scan the streets. My breath fogged and puffed in front of my face, fogging my vision a bit. "About what, may I ask?" I was completely ignorant to the strange atmosphere between us.

"About a guarding mission." My attention shifted to my silver haired companion at that. "With interesting details. I thought long and hard about whether or not I should accept."

"Oh? Have you come to a decision?" I felt a bit of nervousness creep up on me.

"I have." We stopped at his declaration. I turned to him, staring into his eye. "I think I'll accept. But I want to ask for more information on how it's supposed to work." I turned red.

"Ahem... I'm sure the person will give you more details in private." I shifted my eyes and spied a ramen stand with the sign saying 'Ichiraku'. "Hungry?" I pointed to the restaurant.

"I could go for a bite." He agreed. "Perhaps after, you come with me? We can discuss this at my home. And I think Bull would be happy to see you again."

"Bribery with dogs. You know my weakness." I teased. He chuckled.

We entered the noodle shop, only for him to be harassed by his orange clad pupil. "Kakashi- sensei!"

"Naruto, calm down." Kakashi held up his hands in a placating manner. The blond had a face splitting grin adorning his features. Beside him sat Sakura and by her, Sasuke.

"Oh! Lady Tsuki." Sakura smiled as we met eyes.

"Sakura. Hello. How are you?" I smiled politely.

"Good. Tsunade-shishou told me about this 'Christmas' thing from your old home. It sounds odd." She giggled. I could feel myself becoming exhausted just thinking of that whole disaster.

"Oh, please don't remind me." I groaned as I sat beside Kakashi. "It took hours to explain just the basics." Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke all looked on in confusion. Sakura snickered at my fatigued reply.

"What's Krissmas?" Naruto tilted his head in well meaning confusion. I could feel my soul leaving my body at the thought of explaining the whole thing again.

"Christmas is a holiday that families and friends come together and enjoy a feast together, and give gifts to their loved ones." I summed up quickly, looking at my options. I hummed absently, tugging on a long of my bangs.

"What can I get you?" The man behind the counter asked in a good natured fashion.

"Miso ramen please. With plenty of tofu. And water." I decided with a smile.

"Certainly. And you sir?" He turned to Kakashi.

"The usual." He smiled through his mask. Ichiraku grinned.

"You got it." He turned to fulfill the orders.

"So. This 'Christmas'. It's fun?" Kakashi inquired. I let out a groan.

"This whole thing is painful! I'm gonna miss that holiday so much!" I complained lightly.

"Tell me about it, please?" I turned to see his eye closed in a smile. "How did you celebrate it?"

"Me specifically, or in general?" I asked.

"You. I'd like to hear it." I could see his former pupils watching in curiosity.

"Hmmm... Well, Christmas is celebrated on December twenty fifth. But for me, I start preperations on the first day of December. Right about now, I'd be balancing on ladders, decorating the whole of the outside of my house with colorful lights, special ornaments, and lots of garland. Garland is hard to explain. Imagine the prickly leaves of a fir tree on a string instead of a branch, but softer and made of very thin plastic. It comes in many colors. Even metallic ones. The whole roof turns into a festive beacon for the holidays. People who knew me, called me an elf... They hated the constant Christmas carols I was singing." I chuckled. "I'd be buying gifts for my co-workers, putting up a tree. The trees were fir trees, and decorated with more festive lights, garland, tinsel, which is like the same material as garland but in long streams that are usually metallic, supposed to look like icicles. When I can't afford a tree, I usually take translucent thread and hang ornaments from the ceiling to look like they're floating in the shape of a tree. Gifts are wrapped and put under and around the tree to open on Christmas day. I would be making a mess of the kitchen making Christmas cookies, decorating them with icing, and finding icing smudges hours later that I thought I had wiped off before. I also make a special holiday drink called egg nog. It tastes good as it is, but some prefer to add alcohol to it, though I usually don't. I always invited co-workers that had no family to dine with me Christmas day. Christmas eve, some people allow their child to open one present, but leave the rest for Christmas morning. I... didn't really get gifts, myself, but I enjoyed the look on other's face when they opened their gifts. Christmas morning, I was up at dawn, preparing a feast of monumental proportions. I'd be roasting a big bird with various vegetables in chicken broth, making several dishes that are hard to explain, given that you guys don't know what 'casseroles' are... And come dinner time, people would be crowding the apartment in a joyous feast." I stared off, into space, remembering Christmases long past.

"It sounds lovely."Sakura stared down at her food, fidgeting. "But you said you only invited co-workers? What about friends and family?"

"I didn't have family there. The woman who posed as my mother died when I was a teen. It was kind of hard making friends, too. Especially, seeing as everyone saw me as odd or unnatural. My co-workers were the closest I've had to friends before I came here." I chuckled as my food was set in front of me. All of the people in the stand stared at me in complete shock.

"No friends?" Naruto had the most pitiful expression. "You were all alone?"

I waved it off. "It's nothing to sweat. They weren't the type of people I would have wanted as friends, anyway." I started to eat.

"Lady Tsunade is thinking of celebrating Christmas. She's telling everyone who will listen about it, and half the village is in agreement to join her already." Sasuke commented, causing me to choke of my food in shock.

I was turning purple from lack of air, waving my arms futilely. Kakashi patted my back, dislodging the food for me to swallow properly.

"Come again?" I croaked through my sore throat.

"I heard she's thinking of getting a giant tree to decorate the tower with." He continued with a smirk.

"That woman..." I started. "I have so much to do, now..." I groaned. Team Kakashi chuckled at my reaction.

We spent the rest of our meal talking about the new holiday in Konoha.

* * *

"You're gonna spoil them." Kakashi commented. He opened the door to his home for us to enter.

"Nonsense. It's not going to happen all the time." I replied, stepping out of my shoes as he also did. The 'them' in question poked their heads out from wherever they were. As soon as bull saw me, he began to charge. I tossed the bag of treats to Kakashi quickly and opened my arms wide in expectation.

Bull bowled me over, drowning me in drooly licks. I fought back laughter.

"Bull! Come on, is that any way to treat a guest?" Kakashi scolded lightly. He lifted the massive body off of me, eliciting a giggle or two from me. "I'm sorry about that." He set him down beside me.

I picked myself up. "It's fine. Though I'm not sure why he's so excited to see me. I haven't done anything special." I scratched behind the giant hound's ear.

"They say dog's have a good sense of judgement about people." Kakashi commented, his eyes softening. I smiled.

"In any case, we should probably give these guys their gifts." All the dogs poured out of wherever they had been and stared at the bag in Kakashi's arms.

"They'll have to take them out back, though." He gave the dogs a meaningful look. The dogs nodded, Bull whined a bit from not getting to stay by me. The dogs ran outside as Kakashi handed over meaty bones for the canines to chew. They made their way outside, leaving us alone.

Kakashi started tea, ad offered me a seat on his couch.

"So this mission..." He started as he brought his pot and cups into the living room. He poured a cup for himself and I. I looked down to see him pouring a third cup.

"Kakashi?" I questioned.

"You can come in. The door is unlocked." Kakashi called. I turned my head at the sound of the door opening to see Itachi. I blushed.

"Did you two plan this?" I asked, my walls up in defense mode.

"Not exactly. I noticed him walking to the tower for a debriefing while you were looking for lunch. I signaled to meet us here around now." Kakashi explained. I nodded, wary of the Uchiha's mood. He seemed calm, but he was naturally stoic, so I had nothing to go on. Itachi sat on the last empty seat on the couch, and took the offered tea with a silent thanks. "Why don't you tell us the details of this mission?" Kakashi restarted.

"Well, you already know the why, but the particulars include being public about our unique 'relationship' in the village. I don't know how comfortable you would be with that, but it would be necessary. After the mission, if you both accept it, and you don't want to see me again, you would have no obligation to continue the pretense. I was only given two weeks to find at least two men I trusted with this job so that we could get comfortable with our rolls." My back straightened, waiting for a rebuff.

"Well, You already have one guard." Kakashi reminded. I nodded. Itachi seemed to be thinking.

"I am afraid I have left you waiting for my answer for longer than I wished. I also accept. But there is something I want to make perfectly clear." Itachi leaned toward me, his face inches from mine. "For me, it would not be a farce."

"Me either." Kakashi chimed in, murmuring in my ear. I blushed a cherry red as the scents of ozone, campfire, metal, cologne, and cold winter woods mixed together to cause a haze in my mind. "I've never shared before, but I'm willing to give it a shot. Not just for the mission."

"Hn." Itachi agreed. Their proximity to me was disorienting.

"A-are you certain?" I stuttered.

"Very." Kakashi spoke for the both of them. Kakashi nuzzled my neck while Itachi took my first kiss. I squeaked in shock. Itachi moved to the other side of my neck to nuzzle me there as Kakashi tilted my head to give me an unmasked kiss himself.

I shook like a leaf as they leaned away, surveying their work.

"...It seems you have more to get used to than us." Itachi remarked. Kakashi snickered as my face lit up a glowing red.

"I-I know." I responded. We sat there for a while, getting used to each other's company, and enjoying our tea.

"So what is this Christmas everyone is talking about?" Itachi asked.

I groaned and slumped back into the couch as Kakashi chuckled in amusement and Itachi looked on in bemusement.

* * *

"The house smells good." Mother commented as she entered the kitchen to find me covered in flour, sugar, and different colored icings. "Is everything okay?" She sweatdropped.

"I had to make my own cookie cutters, but I made them, so I'll have to find a special box to put them in." I muttered to myself.

"You have guests..." Mother tried again to get my attention. I shoved a cookie in her mouth.

"How does that taste?" I asked, already back to bustling about the kitchen, twirling icing onto a snowflake shaped cookie. "Had to remember it from scratch." Itachi, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto entered the kitchen and stared in shock at the massive amounts of sweets lining the counters and the table I had set up. Half had already been iced, so i was only waiting for the icing to harden. "Jingle bells, jingle bells..." I sang under my breath.

"Wow. You did all this yourself?" Sakura asked.

"Mmhmm!" I turned to the pinkette. "After this, I'm working on getting the perfect tree."

"Would you like some help?" Sakura offered. I beamed and swept her into my christmassy tornado of cookies and icing.

"Sure! The more the merrier! Decorate them however you choose." I showed her the un-iced cookies. She stared at the very detailed cookies I had already made and gaped.

"They won't be nearly as pretty as yours..." She began, looking put out a bit.

"Nonsense. It's supposed to be fun! And this will be your first try. I've had years of experience. While you have fun with these, I can start on the gingerbread house!" I moved on to my chocolate gingerbread cookies which I had shaped as best I could. They had turned out perfectly, as I measured them, and began to use my thick chocolate icing to hold the frames together. I could feel gawking gazes as I began to decorate with various candies and icing. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..." I hummed happily.

"You'll be happy to know that someone made garland." Tsunade announced smugly.

"Amazing!"

"And we already had lights like you mentioned, so I can go grab some of both, if you like." Sasuke offered.

"Thank you!" I tossed a finished cookie his way. He snatched it from the air, gracefully. "Silver and gold, silver and gold..." I hummed absently as I finished the last touches on the hgingerbread house. " Silver and gold decorations on every Christmas tree..."

"Have any preferences on color?" Sasuke asked. I perked back to attention.

"Red, green, white, silver, gold, and blue ornaments, If theres tinsel, go with the silver, gold garland, and surprise me with the lights." I wrote down the list.

"I'll go with teme to make sure he doesn't screw up." Naruto exclaimed.

"Okay." I chuckled. " Go ahead and grab a cookie if you want. That table is dry." I motioned to the mentioned table full of cookies.

"Alright!" He shouted.

"Actually..." I pulled out a basket and swept half of the tables worth of cookies in. "Pass some out while you're out there?" I handed the basket to Sasuke.

"Hn." He left, Naruto in tow.

"Why don't you leave the rest of these cookies to us, and go pick out a tree?" Mother shooed me out the door with Kakashi and Itachi. The door slammed shut behind us.

"Not so subtle..." I tutted. "Well. Come on, you two. We have trees to find." I tugged on their sleeves.

"Trees?" Kakashi asked in confusion.

"One for the house, One for the village." I hummed.

* * *

"Can't believe you just grew a giant fir tree in the middle of the village." Kakashi mumbled, staring at the thirty foot beauty.

"I figured this would be easier. I don't have to do this every year, and it smells great." I stood back to survey my work with a delighted grin.

"Tsuki!" I turned to my mother who was sauntering up to me.

"How do you like the village's tree?" I gestured up to my creation.

"It's perfect. Except it doesn't have any decorations." She smirked.

At that moment, grey and black blurs zipped around the fir tree, leaving holiday decor in their wake.

"That's one way to decorate a tree." I chuckled.

* * *

We had all organized a Christmas Eve party, and I was watching everyone mill about, enjoying themselves. I noticed that Mikoto was giving me funny looks here and there. Kakashi was talking with his team and friends, and Itachi hadn't showed up yet. Sasuke and Sakura were under one of the few clumps of mistletoe, kissing like all couples do.

My eyes continued to scan the room, feeling a bit lonely. I knew every face in the room, but nobody really knew me, except for a few. And even they didn't know me as much as I knew them.

"Green suits you." Itachi's deep voice, sent a shiver down my spine.

"Really? Because I briefly considered a 'Mrs. Claus' style dress before I chose the elf set." I chuckled. Itachi smirked at me silently.

"Look up, you two." Kakashi called to us with a chortle. We shifted our eyes to find a mistletoe hung above us. My eyes widened momentarily before he leaned against me, supporting his weight with his arm against the wall and lifted my chip with his free hand. His lips brushed against mine ever so gently, causing a faint dusting of pink on both of our cheeks.

"U-um... I think I'll go get a drink, now..." I managed to stumble toward the refreshment table. Of course, though, I managed to nearly trip over my own feet. A firm hand steadied me. I looked into a slate grey eye.

"Kakashi." Itachi spoke up, causing the entire room to stiffen. Everyone stared between us three. "Look up." We both looked up to find mistletoe hanging above us. I felt suspicion rising. Kakashi ducked, mask down and stole a kiss before I could blink.

"..." I stared at him, awestruck. Then, I began plotting. Fine. They could have their public strutting. But I would get them.

* * *

It was time to go, and I had managed to place a certain item where I needed it. "Kakashi, Itachi... Do you mind walking me home?" I asked innocently. Both men by my side turned to me with tender smiles upon their faces and nodded. We began to make our way out of the door, when I suddenly stopped. They took two steps ahead, then turned to my giggling.

"Hm?" They uttered their confusion in tandem. I pointed up while trying, unsuccessfully, to contain my giggles. They looked up with a gleam of understanding in their eyes. The rest of the party froze, wondering just what would happen.

Kakashi shrugged and leaned forward, a hand coming to rest behind Itachi's head to hold him still. He slid his mask down, and touched his lips to the Uchiha heir. Itachi's hand caressed Kakashi's jaw briefly before they broke contact. Kakashi's mask was up, and both men's hands were at their sides. They both seemed unaffected by it, to everyone's shock. I giggled again, in nervousness. They knew it was my doing. Their eyes gleamed with mischievous humor. As we walked out, into the night air, Kakashi's whisper sent a shiver up my spine, in a way the chill never could.

"Did you like what you saw, princess?"


End file.
